The Politics of Sexuality in Latin America: A Reader on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights

Social Movements and Political Parties: Gays, Lesbians, and Travestis and the Struggle for Inclusion in Brazil

Social Movements and Political Parties Gays, Lesbians, and Travestis and the Struggle for Inclusion in Brazil Juan P. Marsiaj T  of how social movements affect political institutions and, more broadly, promote social and political change has received significant scholarly attention in the recent past. The relationship between social movements, political parties, and the state is a complex one, working in multiple directions and across different dimensions simultaneously. As outlined in political opportunity and political process models, while social movements can have an impact on other mainstream political institutions through protest action or more direct engagement with these institutions, change in the configuration of the institutional framework may also generate new opportunities for those social movements (and perhaps their opponents) (Tarrow ; Tarrow ; Tarrow ; Kitschelt ; Tilly ; Engel ). [. . .] The democratization process in Brazil, as in other Latin American countries, brought about a liberalization of the political party system. Since political parties are key actors in the struggle for state power and in struggles for the representation of groups in society,examining their relationship with social movements provides a more thorough comprehension of the opportunities the democratization process makes available to marginalized groups.₁ As Scott Mainwaring () points out,even in cases where parties are weak, as he believes to be the case in Brazil, their study is important for a proper analysis of the prospects for democratization. [. . .] 197 Political parties are also important for analyzing which groups have influence over and are included in the decision-making processes that define public policy and legislation . These policies and laws, in turn, are key to the protection of marginalized groups against discrimination and abuses and to the guarantee of their human rights. Other paths to inclusion are also available to social movements representing marginalized groups. [. . .] Nevertheless, as the development of the women’s movement in Brazil indicates (Alvarez ), political parties should not be dismissed as a vehicle for change. I address these issues by asking how political parties matter for the struggle for inclusion of gays, lesbians, and travestis (s) in the political decision-making process in Brazil.² Are parties an effective vehicle for social and political change for sexual minorities ? How is support for  rights distributed along the Left–Right spectrum, and what are the main reasons behind this pattern of support? While political parties are not the sole or main avenue for change open to s in Brazil, they play a signi- ficant role in the recognition and visibility of sexual minorities as political actors in the political field and in promoting policy and legislative change in favor of s. Leftist parties show a greater level of support for GLT rights, while right-wing parties tend to be opposed to them, with centrist parties falling somewhere in between , adopting a more ambiguous position. Institutional factors (the existence of institutional spaces for s in leftist parties) and the progressive attitudes of individual party members are key in explaining leftist support. This position, however, is neither completely stable nor unanimously accepted within the Left. Religion (the historical presence of the Catholic Left in these circles) and discriminatory attitudes help explain such limitations to the support from the Left. Moreover, religion, electoral incentives , and, to a lesser extent, progressive attitudes also help qualify the general opposition to  rights found among right-wing parties. The Brazilian  movement emerged in the late s and has addressed pressing issues affecting the  population, such as homophobic discrimination and violence, and the  epidemic. The activity of federal deputies in the Chamber of Deputies provides a privileged vantage point from which to explore the relationship between the  movement and political parties. It is particularly the complex relationship between  activists and the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’Party, ), that reveals both the sources and limitations of the support for sexual minorities among leftist parties. In spite of opposition to  rights in right-wing parties, opportunities remain for occupying political spaces within those parties.While alliance with political parties is an important tool in the  movement’s struggle, other venues and strategies are also available; many parallels exist in the way different social movements and political parties relate to each other in Brazil, a point highlighted by a comparison between the  and feminist movements. 198 / Juan P. Marsiaj The Emergence of the GLT Movement and theViolent Reality of Sexual Minorities The gay and lesbian movement was born during the period of political liberalization in the...